What's more important?
by pandalove666
Summary: I'm starting it as a whole story now. Basically Naruto, Sakura n Hinata are on a mission to look for clues to find Sasuke but somewhere down the line things don't go so well. Tell me if you like it!
1. My friend

Hello randomers =) I began this chapter agesssss ago but only bothered to finish it now lol

p.s I have no idea what 'north-east region' means! Most words I use don't make any sense to me so don't worry about it! Review!!!

"We've got to go after him!" Naruto shouted as he fumed up and down the hokage's office. "He's not that far, not now but if we stay here any longer he will be!" He turned to face Lady Tsunade, with anger clear on his face, "but I guess you don't care about Sasuke -"

"Naruto" Sakura cautioned him with a steady gaze. Lady Tsunade took in a deep breath and said what she'd already explained to Naruto and Sakura, which - felt like a hundred times already.

"There aren't enough available ninja to go with you and with the low number of ninja left in the village it would be foolish to send away even more."

"But-" Naruto started to object, but Lady Tsunade wasn't finished yet.

"But I guess you don't care about that!" Tsunade had raised her voice and a vein was popping out of her head.

Naruto and Sakura's ears were ringing for a long while before they could hear properly again. Naruto had a troubled look on his face and Sakura watched him with worry. Tsunade also stared at him but with stern eyes, waiting to hear his reply.

Naruto looked away from them both and mumbled, "I know, I get it. But-" He put his head down for a moment and then looked back towards them. Tsunade and Sakura's eyes hadn't strayed from him. "Just I and Sakura could g-"

"No," Tsunade interrupted him, her hands were on her desk and she gripped them into fists as she spoke, "-out of the question. It's too dangerous."

"We'll -"

"NO! There are only two of you. You're not going, end of!"

Naruto turned away again, bitterly and mumbled under his breath. "You can't stop me." But he wasn't as quiet as he'd thought for Tsunade leaped from her chair and was inches from him before he'd even noticed he was flying into the opposite wall!

"What the heck!" Naruto moaned after his body had collided with the wall, sending dust and bricks everywhere.

Tsunade grabbed his collar and pulled his face to hers out of the wreckage.

Sakura wanted to go after Sasuke too and he wasn't that far away. There had to be a way to persuade Lady Tsunade to let them go... But she was so worried about Naruto and Sasuke that she just didn't have the strength to think about it.

Sakura thought about Sasuke while Tsunade flung Naruto around in the background. Tsunade was just about to hit Naruto again when Sakura approached her.

"What if we could find someone to go with us?" Sakura asked.

"No." Tsunade said.

Sakura tried again: "Someone who's not got any missions and has a skill that would help us to stay safe."

"No, Sakura. The numbers are still too little, it's too dangerous."

Tears silently fell down Sakura's cheeks. "Please" she whispered. Tsunade stood up straight, away from Naruto who was crouched on the floor rubbing the new bump that was on his head.

She stared into Sakura's watery eyes for a moment then sighed and walking back to her desk. "I don't know" she shook her head slowly back and fourth. Naruto looked up into Sakura's face and saw the tears trailing down her cheeks. He immediately felt guilty. He stood up. Sakura walked to the window, she was pretending to be looking out at the village but Naruto and even Tsunade knew she was trying to wipe away her tears, in secret.

It was quiet for a long five minutes, while Lady Tsunade still sat shaking her head. Sakura was still at the window wiping away the tears that never seemed to end and Naruto still watched her feeling guilty.

Then suddenly Lady Tsunade pushed her chair back a little and started searching for something in the bottom drawer of her desk. After a couple of seconds she dropped an enormous file onto the desk, so enormous that it makes you wonder how big the desk's bottom drawer?

Naruto and Sakura looked towards Lady Tsunade, to understand what the big slam was that they'd heard. Tsunade opened the file and began to scan through names. Naruto and Sakura watched curiously.

After about fifth teen minutes are so, Tsunade stopped scanning through the papers that were all from the one file.

"Shizune!" She called towards the office doors and just two seconds after being called Shizune came through the office doors.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade was cleaning up her desk as she spoke, "send for Hyuga Hinata."

Shizune left, to do just that but not without feeling the desperation and worry that had soaked up the room's entire atmosphere. She barely noticed the hole in which Naruto had plunged into.

"Hinata?" Naruto was the one to ask. Sakura's eyes lit up with hope.

"Yes. She's the only one out of her team who hasn't had any missions lined up for awhile and she's been using up all that time training, so she's very capable. Her byaugan will come in handy for keeping safe and aware. She's the perfect candidate and the best I can do with the little number of ninja still in the village."

Sakura's eyes sparkled with joy and relief. She'd figured out what was going on the second Lady Tsunade had told Shizune to send for Hinata. She smiled broadly at Tsunade who smiled back.

But there was still someone who hadn't a clue what was going on! Naruto stared blankly at Sakura confused about why she was smiling and even more confused as to why Tsunade was smiling. He rubbed his chin in thought.

Hinata had been down at the training ground that she always goes to, because except for her and her comrades not a lot of people went there. She was just about to go for a run and was stretching to prepare herself for it when a bird flew down on to one of the stumps that they used for training and chirped at her.

She glanced over at the bird and immediately spotted the little note that was tied to it's left leg. She took the note, read it, then ran to the Hokage's office.

Hinata stood nervously outside the office doors, she was about to knock, she took in a deep breath and knocked twice before being told to 'enter' by the Hokage's voice.

Hinata opened the door and walked into the room with her best 'ready for anything' face. But no matter how hard she tried to stay in the moment, nothing could of stopped her cheeks burning up when Naruto glanced over to her - finally putting the bits together that explained what was going on here.

"Oh...!" he shouted in Hinata's direction - causing her to jump in surprise and embarrassment. Then he span around to Tsunade, "Hinata's will help us! She has byaugan!!!"

Tsunade and Sakura sighed loudly n shook their heads. Hinata made her way to stand in front of the Hokage and waited patiently for her orders, while being very careful to not look back at Naruto.

Tsunade put on her 'serious look', "Hyuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura and Uzimaki Naruto you are to search along the north-east region. You are only looking for clues! When you have searched everywhere in the north-east region your mission is complete." All three of them nodded.

"Naruto"

"Yes?" Naruto's eyebrows were frowned downwards towards his nose and his jaw and hands were clenched. Tsunade took note of his body language and repeated: "You are only looking for clues. You hear me?" He took a moment and then nodded.

He didn't wait to be told to leave the office and prepare he shot past Hinata and Sakura in a flash. Tsunade had watched him go, with stern-eyes.

"Yes! Finally some action!" Naruto practically sung to himself as he packed his backpack in his bedroom in his apartment. He skipped into the kitchen leaving his bag on his bed, opened the fridge and took out the only thing in there - a milk carton. He gulped down what was left of it and then grabbed his bag from his bed to go down to the gate to await the Sakura and Hinata.

But before he could make it back through his bedroom door a silent seriousness smoother over his expression and made his grip on his bag tighten.

He looked over at the photo of him and his comrades back when they were 'Team 7' he remembered feeling like he hated Sasuke and then feeling like he'd finally been noticed by the person who always looked down on him, everyone looked down on him but he was used to it. But when Sasuke noticed him, he felt nothing could stop him from accomplishing his dream.

He walked over to the photograph and smiled. "I will save you Sasuke, my friend."


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura and Hinata stood quietly at Konoha's gates while they waited for Naruto. Sakura after five minutes of her wait started doing some stretches, while deep in her mind she was fuming with excitement hence determination.

Hinata stared out at Konoha, her eyes focused only on Naruto's arrival, her feet stood firm in the soil that was slowly covering her skin in her pressure to keep a serious expression. She wanted more than anything to be some help on this mission. She couldn't let Naruto down, not for a second in anything she did or said. Most of this pressure she was putting on herself was because, she being the only one who could keep a clear mind when dealing with Sasuke, Lady Tsunade had made her team leader.

Naruto had missed out on this piece of information as he'd left the room before Lady Tsunade had the chance to inform them all. Sakura on the other hand, knew that Hinata was the team leader and she also understood almost too well why Tsunade had made Hinata the leader.

But their expectations of her were wrong, Hinata had thought the whole time she'd been waiting for Naruto while Sakura stretched. She was no better than Naruto and Sakura when it came to Sasuke. Not because she felt any connection to Sasuke, but because he caused Naruto pain. Even the pain he caused Sakura, hurt Hinata to see. Because when she was younger and she was constantly putting herself down, Sakura – was one of those people Hinata wanted to be like even felt jealous of her when she was in Naruto's team and to see the girl she was jealous of be in so much pain didn't make her happy in the slightest. It had the opposite effect on her.

As for Naruto, no matter how oblivious he was about her feelings for him the truth was she did love him. More than she ever thought she could love anyone and nothing tore at her more than to see the boy she loved in pain. The very thought made her heart bleed – she griped her chest with one hand as Naruto was finally walking towards the gate.

Sakura stopped stretching and playfully moaned at Naruto for taking his time.

"We've been waiting here for you for ages! Haven't we Hinata?"

Sakura and Naruto turned to look at Hinata. She felt herself burn up a little in her cheeks as Naruto's ocean blue eyes acknowledged her. "E-erm n-no not too long-g…"

Sakura smiled at her while Naruto thought about Hinata's face turning red and her grip on her chest.

"Your too nice on him" Sakura smiled as she turned to walk through the gates.

"Hey, Hinata you okay?" Naruto had moved closer to Hinata, he'd started to worry she was ill or something. Hinata tried her hardest to keep breathing while Naruto stared at her hand on her chest – worryingly.

She closed her eyes then brought her hand away from her heart and quickly turned away from Naruto, "Y-yes!" Naruto looked after her confused. "S-so let's go shall we." She looked over her shoulder at Naruto's still confused face, "now that we're all here."

Sakura looked at Hinata, "right!" She nodded her head. "Come on Naruto" Naruto shook of his confusion "Right!"

Hinata smiled to herself, as they left Konoha. 'Right' she thought 'I will try my best, Naruto…'

They were running through the trees when Naruto asked, with an exciting grin on his face "So what's the plan than Sakura?"

Sakura and Hinata were near enough going at the same speed behind Naruto, Hinata slightly in front. "I don't know yet" she said.

"Eh?" Naruto stopped himself on the nearest tree branch and looked back at Sakura, who'd also as well as Hinata stopped running and stood on a branch. "So, what is the plan Hinata?"

Hinata tried to show confidence of the leader, as she looked at into Sakura's eyes. "Well…" She began only to be cut off, "Hinata?" Naruto asked, almost shouted. Not that he had anything against Hinata personally; it's just that Sasuke didn't have anything to do with Hinata so she couldn't possibly understand how important this was to Sakura and him.

"Yes! Hinata, you got a problem with that!" Sakura shouted at him and had her hand up in a fist in front of herself in his direction.

Naruto looked down at his feet, with slight disappointment showing in his eyes. Hinata didn't like that.

"I'm sorry Naruto."

Naruto looked up at her. Sakura rushed to assure her, "no you don't have to apologise ignore Naruto! He's just an idiot." She pulled the nastiness face ever as she looked over in Naruto direction.

"But" Hinata started to talk again. She looked firmly at Naruto, "I will do my best. I know this mission means something entirely different to you and Sakura than what I could ever truly understand. But you can trust me," Hinata looked at Sakura to finish her speech. "You both can. I will look out for you both and make my judgments purely on what's the best for the team. I might have never have been a leader of a team before but –"

She had more to say but she'd suddenly felt Naruto's hand on her shoulder. She turned away from Sakura's smiling face and into Naruto's which was so close to her face she could barely breathe.

"Enough said. What's the plan than Hinata?"

Hinata stared at him confused.

"We trust you." Sakura told her, she looked at Sakura and before she knew it her lips stretched up into a broad smile.

She dropped her head a little trying to rid her smile, "thank you" she told them. She then lifted her head; seriousness took over her body as she took up her position as the leader.

"For now I think I should take the lead with my Byakugan and then Sakura and Naruto behind."

"Aw man, why am I at the end? -"

Sakura at this point before Naruto could properly finish his moan she'd punched him in to the tree that was holding up the branch all of three of them stood on as Hinata explained the plan.

"Because Hinata says so!" Sakura pulled Naruto up by his collar. Hinata walked closer to them. "Thank you Sakura, but that's okay…"

Sakura smiled slightly and then let Naruto slip out of her grip; she looked a little embarrassed, "sorry."

Naruto slid down on to the tree branch.

"Naruto…?"

Naruto stood quickly up and gave Hinata his full attention; Sakura gave her attention as well.

"I'm the eyes ahead so we know where we're going –"

"I understand that bit." Naruto said ignoring Sakura's angry glaze. "It's just –"

Hinata cut across him this time. "We need you at the back in case we get attacked from behind, while I focus entirely on finding clues on where Sasuke is or where he could be heading. It can't be Sakura as she's the only medical ninja in our team, so her job is to heal either you or I, should we need it."

Naruto couldn't find anything to argue with after Hinata had explained it all to him.

"Sounds perfect to me" Sakura grinned and put her hand out in the 'peace' sign to Hinata. Hinata smiled.

"So for now, we'll just go off in the direction Lady Tsunade gave me – which was where there was a Sasuke-sighting. Okay?" Hinata asked her team, but really she was just asking Naruto. Sakura also waited for Naruto's answer.

"Okay." He agreed after awhile.

Hinata automatically took the lead and carried on with their mission. Sakura smiled at Naruto, Naruto back at her. They enthusiastically high fived each other then followed Hinata, Sakura in front of Naruto.


End file.
